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D
ear Winnetka Families,
In a continuing effort to incorporate appropriate use of technology in our schools, we felt it would be beneficial to briefly address the use of "smart watches" in our schools. Although students do not typically carry personal cell devices in elementary school, we have noticed an increasing number of students with smart watches. While we welcome the use of watches for purposes of telling time, it is important to revisit our schoolhouse expectations for technology.
In order to ensure student engagement and their participation in our community of learners, the use of smart watches during school hours for the following activities are prohibited:
- Texting
- Sending photos
- Playing Games
- Making phone calls
Please know that if a
watch
is used for any of the above purposes or becomes a distraction, the student will be asked to put it in his/her backpack inside his/her locker or cubby. If these issues continue, that child will need to leave the device at home. Please remember that the school is not responsible for lost personal items. Thank you for your continued partnership in creating the best possible learning environment for our students.
Sincerely,
Beth Carmody, Hubbard Woods
Julie Pfeffer, Crow Island
Joshua Swanner, Greeley
GREELEY NEWS
Dear Greeley Families,
In the Fall, we asked teachers to add leaves of people, things, and circumstances they were grateful for to our Tree of Gratitude. The goal of this exercise is to model a spirit of gratitude and a mindset of abundance. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, an abundant mindset focuses our attention on that which we have rather than what we are lacking (scarcity mindset). An abundant mindset allows us to see possibilities more than limitations; pathways more than obstacles; the success of others as a positive rather than a threat to our well-being
This week's newsletter focuses on two main points. First, I invite our Greeley parents to join our staff in filling out a "leaf of gratitude." Leslie Jenner will have empty leaves available for families to write something they are grateful for. Please consider stopping by to share. Leaves will be added to our tree. In the spring, students will take the third step of this art project by filling out their own leaves.
Lastly, I encourage you to be prepared to
ask your child(ren) how they may reword a statement rooted in scarcity to one with abundance
. A simple example: I know a certain four year old (I cannot confirm nor deny if it is my son) who opened a Christmas present only to say, "I didn't want a hard Pikachu. I wanted a soft, cuddly Pikcahu." After this child's very wise and battle-hardened parent sat down with him to discuss gratitude over scarcity, the child was able to see that "at least [he] got a Pikachu" and the hard, plastic toy "makes cool sounds." Most importantly, they said "Grandma loves me so she got me a Pikachu."
Of course, it isn't always this easy. And sometimes we have a scarcity mindset over things in life that are far more complex than a Pokemon toy. However, starting with gratitude towards small things is a nice step towards more abundant thinking, which can have positive impacts on our relationships, professional/school lives, and ability to take calculated risks. Please let me know if you are able to have such a conversation with your child. I'd love to hear about it.
Sincerely,
Joshua Swanner
Principal
SPRING SING DATES
Please mark your calendars for our Spring Sings. First and second graders will perform on Thursday, April 23, at 7:00 p.m. Our third and fourth graders will perform on Wednesday, May 13, at 7:00 p.m.
GREELEY PARENT PARTY!!
Join us for this year's Greeley Parent Party on Friday, January 24 at 210 LIVE - a cool music venue with a downtown vibe but close to home! Mingle, lounge, eat, drink, dance, and raise $ for an exciting and much needed multi-purpose room and auditorium refresh. Take the train, Uber, drive (they have valet) - but please come and support Greeley! We can't wait to see you there!
If you cannot attend, but would like to support the multi-purpose room and auditorium refresh project, please consider a donation.
Young Composers
Last week, Greeley's first through fourth graders started to form their groupings for this year's Young Composers program. Young Composers is a unique program which allows first through fourth graders the opportunity to write their own music and perform it in front of an audience. Participation is voluntary and rehearsals occur during recess time twice per week. Students may work alone or with one or two other children in their class. Parent volunteers also help during rehearsal times, as the creative process can be busy, noisy, and a bit messy!
S
ongs are shared differently, depending on the age of the child.
The first and second graders share their songs for their parents, teacher/s, and peers during music class in the music room. The "audience" provides compliments or questions after each song and the performer/s have an opportunity to reflect on their work and its process. These informal gatherings are called Junior Composers.
The third and fourth graders perform their songs for parents and the entire school community in the formal setting of the auditorium. Parents enjoy the end product of these performances, but there is so much more to be gleaned behind the scenes as each child journeys through a rich, multi-layered process. Music, of course is at the center, however students also develop strategies that help them collaborate, compromise, problem-solve, and (most importantly) not give up when things get difficult.
This year's Young Composers dates are as follows:
Fourth Graders - Friday, February 21st at 1:00 PM
Third Graders - Friday, March 13th at 9:00 AM
Junior Composers - These dates will occur in March and will be scheduled when students have finished their songs and are ready to perform.
DISTRICT NEWS
Social Emotional Learning
Social emotional learning (SEL) is a key element of the Winnetka experience and integral to our students happiness and success in the classroom and in life. This year, we established SEL as a District-wide goal focusing on building a community-wide understanding of Social Emotional Learning and its impact on students. As part of this initiative, we will be featuring a parent corner article from members of our Parent SEL committee.......
As District 36 embarks on the Social Emotional Learning Initiative, parents are playing an integral role in making this a community-wide effort through participation on the committee and involvement in workshops and meetings. Throughout this year and next, information and resources about SEL and integration in District 36 will continually be updated and made available. One of the ways the SEL message will be communicated and explained to parents is through multiple Winnetka Parent Institute (WPI) events. The first WPI on SEL was held on December 3 at Washburne School and served as a clear and thorough introduction to SEL in District 36. Administrators, teachers, and parents all provided input into the presentation and their own perspectives on the important of SEL. There will be two additional WPI's on SEL in the second half of the 2019-2020 school year. Please take a moment to review the highlights and summary here of the December WPI on SEL. Information from the WPI can be found here:
Video of December 3 WPI
and
Presentation Slides for December 3 WPI
.
SEL has always been an important component of Winnetka's progressive philosophy of educating the whole child. However, as times change and pressures increase on children, the District is taking a more formalized approach and additional steps to ensure, as a District, everyone is using the same language, has the same tools, and has the resources needed to integrate SEL into the school day. District 36 is working with The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (
CASEL), a nationally known expert organization based in Chicago, to implement a framework for SEL in our schools. A Super Committee of administrators, teachers, staff and parents are working together to begin the journey of integrating SEL into the schools and our community. The District 36 School Board also recently approved a 3 year plan to focus on SEL and make it a part of the curriculum. Notably, New Trier High School has also adopted as part of their planning, a focus and implementation of SEL in the high school setting.
The importance of SEL is becoming overwhelmingly apparent as schools across the country representing all demographics are reporting higher anxiety levels in children and dysregulated behavior due to a variety of different factors. Large corporations are also observing a deficiency in social and emotional skills as they look to expand their workforce with the younger generation. It is becoming increasingly clear that students in high achieving communities are increasingly at risk as noted in
a recent Washington Post article .
CASEL provides a framework of five key competencies for Social Emotional Learning - Self Awareness, Self Management, Responsible Decision Making, Social Awareness, and Relationship Skills. In the first year of the District's SEL work, the focus will be on the adults in the District - administration, teachers, staff, and the community- learning to understand and improve on these competencies. The following year these learnings will shift to the students. The District, in partnership with CASEL, will be working with the teachers and staff all year and each school has designed their school improvement plans to address the adult piece as well as a student component with the goal of implementation with students next year.
The focus of the first WPI was on the SEL competencies of Self-Management and Self- Awareness. The next two WPI's will focus on the remaining three competencies of Responsible Decision-Making, Social Awareness and Relationship Skills. Please watch your principal's newsletters for the upcoming 2020 Winnetka Parent Institute events on SEL. Additionally, The Family Action Network will be presenting many speakers on SEL in the coming months and their events are free and open to the public. Please click on the
FAN website for more information about past and future events.. The Winnetka Public Schools Foundation will be hosting the
Carlson Event on January 23, 2020 and will feature SEL speaker, Dr. Matthew Dewar.
The Social Emotional Learning initiative is an ongoing, evolving process in District 36 and parents will play an integral role in the journey and implementation that will ultimately deepen the commitment to educating the whole child.
Online Pre-Registration Open for Kindergarten & New Students for the 2020-2021 School Year
Pre-registration for Kindergarten and students new to The Winnetka Public Schools in 2020-2021 is now open on the District website and by clicking here
. Children who will be five-years-old on or before September 1, 2020, are eligible to enroll.
The new student registration process is completed in three steps:
-
Complete new student pre-registration forms online beginning December 6, 2019.
-
Provide proof of residency.
Click here
to view the list of documents that will meet these requirements. For your convenience residency documents may be uploaded during online registration or brought to the District Office.
-
Visit the District Office to provide a certified copy of your child(ren)'s birth certificate and a parent photo ID and complete the paper portion of registration.
Children will not be considered enrolled until both the online and paper portion of registration has been completed and residency documentation is verified. If you have any questions, please contact the District Office at 847-446-9400.
Winter MAP Testing
We are approaching our second testing window for the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test, which will take place between
January 13 - 24, 2020
. Your child's school or teacher will inform you of his or her specific testing dates.
Similar to the fall, all students in Grades 3 - 8 will take one Reading Test and one Math test. MAP is a computer-adaptive test, which means every student receives a unique set of test questions based on responses to previous questions. This provides a personalized assessment experience by adapting to each student's learning level. The purpose of the second testing session is to provide teachers with midyear progress data that will help inform their instruction as they move forward into the school year. Student Reports are sent home at the end of the school year with fall to spring growth measures. Additional information on the MAP assessment may be found on our district website at
www.winnetka36.org/itl/assessments
.
WPI Events
January 30, 2020 (SEL session)
CASEL Competencies: Focus on Social Awareness & Relationship Skills
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 am
The Skokie School Community Room
Join District educators and parents as we explore the key SEL competencies of social awareness and relationship skills and their impact on learning, wellness, and success. Learn how these important competencies strengthen one's ability to understand others, communicate, build relationships, and collaborate as a valued member of a team. This is the second in a series of WPI's workshops that the District is offering this school year focusing on the important District-wide initiative of SEL.
RSVP here
.
Not Quite Little Kid, Not Quite Teenager: The Developmental Progression of the Middle School Child
February 5, 2020 at 9:30 a.m.
The Skokie School Community Room
Join Principal Weir and Assistant Principal Joynt (The Skokie School) and Principal Fenton and Assistant Principal Horwitz (Carleton Washburne School) for an informational session focusing on the ins and outs of the growing middle school child. We will spend time exploring both the academic and social-emotional needs appropriate to 5th-8th grade children, how they change over that four year span, as well as the neurological changes that contribute to these needs. Parents with current middle schoolers, or soon-to-be middle schoolers, are encouraged to join us for an engaging, encouraging and educational hour together. RSVP here.
Recommendation Form Protocol
Throughout the school year, our teachers and administrators may be asked to complete a
commendation form for families considering private schools or summer programs. As each institution's forms vary in the nature of information requested, we have moved to a common form that our Winnetka teachers and administrators will complete for submission to any authorized outside educational institution. Upon request for a feedback form, Winnetka staff will respond within ten business days. In the interest of maintaining appropriate confidentiality and consistency, our District employees will only complete this form, which may be attached to a student's application to any outside educational institution. You may find the form by
clicking here.
Family Action Network
Family Action Network (FAN) is a 501(c)(3) organization that curates a high-quality speaker series each academic year. All FAN programs are free and open to the public. To view a calendar of upcoming events, visit the FAN website:
https://www.familyactionnetwork.net/
From The Alliance for Early Childhood:
Let's Play! Block Building
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Families, Join The Alliance for Early Childhood for our First Annual Block Fest!
We are excited to partner this year with Northern Illinois University to provide a hands-on building extravaganza featuring five different kinds of blocks. Block play provides a natural environment for kids to experiment with early STEAM concepts. Our Community Partner Northern Suburban Special Education District (NSSED) will be on site as well to support this event.
Intended Age Audience: All ages are welcome.
Parents or caregivers are asked to attend with their children.
Registration is not required. Free and Open to the Public.
WPSF
Volunteer Center
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